SOCAR

The State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan , largely known by its abbreviation SOCAR, is a fully <a href="/facts/State-owned/Jr4dPDo3">state-owned</a> national oil and gas company headquartered in <a href="/facts/Baku/oUVVcRN1">Baku</a>, <a href="/facts/Azerbaijan/Ho5joRTJ">Azerbaijan</a>. The company produces <a href="/facts/Oil/fsgX2IRM">oil</a> and <a href="/facts/Natural_gas/9MYQ7NAP">natural gas</a> from onshore and offshore fields in the Azerbaijani segment of the <a href="/facts/Caspian_Sea/Ymc08gkR">Caspian Sea</a>. It operates the country's only oil refinery, one <a href="/facts/SOCAR_Gas_Processing_Plant/jxXTqNQ2">gas processing plant</a> and runs several oil and gas export <a href="/facts/Pipeline_transport/gEmKcFhD">pipelines</a> throughout the country. It owns fuel filling station networks under the SOCAR brand in <a href="/facts/Azerbaijan/Ho5joRTJ">Azerbaijan</a>, <a href="/facts/Turkey/KIYAWAs0">Turkey</a>, <a href="/facts/Georgia_(country)/ccBF8bBE">Georgia</a>, <a href="/facts/Ukraine/Qof0uqAj">Ukraine</a>, <a href="/facts/Romania/yolzk5cN">Romania</a>, <a href="/facts/Switzerland/LcGuxeTe">Switzerland</a>, and <a href="/facts/Austria/4qWIMIyc">Austria</a>.
SOCAR is a major source of income for the authoritarian regime in <a href="/facts/Azerbaijan/Ho5joRTJ">Azerbaijan</a>. The company is run in an opaque manner, as it has complex webs of contracts and middlemen that have led to the enrichment of the country's ruling elites.

SOCAR open-in-new

SOCAR